Agenda item

Mr Stott, Director of Universal and Early Support Services from the Directorate for Children and Young People introduced a report on the achievement of pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals at Lancashire and District level at the end of Key Stages 2 and 4.  The report also outlined the strategies which were being deployed to raise achievement for this group of pupils.

It was reported by Mr Hewitt, Head of Quality and Continuous Improvement from the Directorate for Children and Young People, that the local authority had worked in partnership with schools to raise the achievement of these pupils and that great focus had been placed on this both nationally and locally.  In 2011 additional funding known as the Pupil Premium was provided to schools to enable them to support FSM pupils who had been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. The value of the Pupil Premium had risen year on year and the current value was £900 per pupil per year.  All schools had identified strategies to support the learning of their FSM pupils and were monitored on the achievement of this group of children and their use of the funding.

It was noted that attainment of FSM pupils in Lancashire at the end of their first year in school had risen to 46% in 2012, a rise of around 6% on the previous year.  Attainment of FSM children in the Early Years Foundation Stage had risen by 13% in the last three years but remained 2% below the national average.

At the end of Key Stage 2 the proportion of FSM pupils reaching level 4 or above in English and Mathematics rose to 66% in 2012 and was in line with the national level.

At the end of Key Stage 4, however, attainment in 2012 of FSM pupils in Lancashire was below the national average despite a slight improvement in results over the past three years.  In 2012 attainment of FSM pupils rose in five districts with the highest increases in Preston, West Lancashire and Fylde and the largest decreases in Lancaster and Pendle.  The lowest attainment was in Lancaster, Burnley and Pendle.  It was noted that there was therefore a need to work with schools in these areas to accelerate improvement in attainment. 

It was reported that the Best Start Programme created by the County Council which had preceded the Pupil Premium, had had a major impact on raising achievement of FSM pupils – over the past three years the County Council had made available £5 million which enabled Children's Centres to work with primary schools to support FSM pupils and their families to make the most of educational opportunities available to them.  Whilst this programme would cease in 2014, schools would be able to use their Pupil Premium funding to commission family support from Children's Centres.  (Ofsted inspections looked at how schools spent the Pupil Premium).

In considering the report, members of the Committee made the following comments:

·  What the level of confidence was that all children who were entitled to FSM were in receipt of it.  Mr Stott responded that the County Council had undertaken a data matching exercise with District Councils to identify families in receipt of Housing Benefit and had then assumed eligibility of FSM and a sum of around £1/2 million had been secured for the Pupil Premium.  It was acknowledged that some families did not claim FSM automatically.  (Mr Stott undertook to find out exactly how many Districts had signed up to data sharing with the County Council and inform the Committee of the number).

·  What type of monitoring processes were in place in between the years at Key Stage 4.  These were explained to be:

o  The Authority worked with the majority of schools to look at targets set for a particular group of children and to ensure they were appropriately identified

o  The Authority ensured schools used the toolkits provided by Ofsted – schools had to publish the way they were using the Pupil Premium and the impact it was having was identified in performance tables

o  The Authority worked with particular schools where progress was identified as a particular issue

·  In response to a query regarding concern that the Pupil Premium was being used correctly, Mr Stott responded that it was down to individual Head teachers as to how the Pupil Premium was used but that it was important mechanisms were in place to ensure that it was monitored correctly

·  Concern was expressed that there might still be stigma attached to claiming FSM but it was suggested that in the electronic age (children, for example, checking in for dinner via thumbprint), there was little reason to believe that this might be the case although some parents might not like accepting 'charity.'

·  The issue of nutrition was raised – the packed lunch versus FSMs was an ongoing debate and it was suggested that in the current economic climate it was unlikely that there would be a move to FSM for every child in the primary sector in the near future

·  Information on the attainment of Gypsy,Roma,Traveller and first generation economic migrant pupils was requested to be brought back to the Committee – to be incorporated into the Work Plan for the coming year.

·  In response to a query regarding the limited progress made in raising the achievement of FSM pupils at Key Stage 4, it was suggested that in 2012 this had been affected by the way in which English GCSE had been marked but that other exam results had been as expected.  It was acknowledged, however, that there was a gap in attainment of FSM pupils at Key Stage 4 and that this needed addressing.

Resolved:  That the report on the achievement of pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals at Lancashire and District level at the end of Key Stages 2 and 4 be noted.